Girls and boys in the adolescent period are possessed of so many
conflicting ideals that they may be turned in any one of half a dozen
directions at a psychological moment. Just at the time when Constance
was feeling very grown up, and was looking forward to a very vivid
experience of some kind, Miss Osgood thoughtlessly dropped the
suggestion which colored all of Constance’s thoughts and acts during her
vacation. Instead of trying to gain Miss Osgood’s approbation she should
have spent her month in growing strong and brown in the open air, in
helping to make the life at the hotel simple and wholesome and
health-building; but Miss Osgood’s influence all went the other way.
It is important that even chance acquaintances watch their casual
injunctions to young people, not only because they may have so much more
influence than they dream, but also because they may speak at a time
when the mind of the hearer is peculiarly sensitive to suggestion.